In Parliament
NATO ASSEMBLY – I was appointed to the UK Delegation for the NATO Parliamentary Assembly by the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon William Hague, and from there I was appointed to the NATO PA Defence Committee.
RAF – I am President of the Huddersfield RAF Association. I’m also a keen supporter of the RAF Benevolent Fund and act as sponsor for their events in the House of Commons.
POLITICS.CO.UK – I’m on the editorial board of politics.co.uk.
PARLIAMENTARY SPORTS FELLOWSHIP – I’ll be spending time with the England and Wales cricket board from local grass roots coaching to the national team.
CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS OF KASHMIR – I act as sponsor for their events in Parliament.
CO2SENSE YORKSHIRE – I co-sponsor events for CO2Sense Yorkshire in the House of Commons.
ALDERSGATE GROUP – I’m a member of the Aldersgate Group, which is “a coalition of progressive business, environment groups and individuals that believe that high environmental standards will be major part of future economic growth and international competitiveness”. Microsoft, Jaguar, PepsiCo, BT, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, the Co Op and Friends of the Earth are also members.
ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS – I act as Co-Chairman of the Carbon Monoxide Group the and Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood Group. I’m also Vice Chairman for the Post Offices, Hepatology, Rail in the North, Global Education for All, BBC and Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire groups. A full list of my APPG membership may be found here.
My Background
I’m a proud Yorkshireman and live in my own home in Honley. My parents live down the valley in Holmbridge.
RAF OFFICER
For 9 years I was an officer in the RAF serving in Las Vegas, Turkey, Gibraltar, Germany, Cyprus and Iraq. I recently became the Honorary President of the Royal Air Force Association in Huddersfield. I’m a member of the Royal British Legion and a supporter of the RAF Benevolent Fund.
YORKSHIRE TELEVISION
I left the RAF, went to University to study broadcast journalism. After a year with BBC Radio in Leeds and Middlesbrough, I got my dream job with ITV Yorkshire in Leeds where I became the weekend presenter for Calendar News & Sport. I interviewed the likes of David Beckham, Geoff Boycott and Dame Kelly Homes. I first got into broadcasting by hosting the very early morning radio show on Huddersfield FM, which became Pennine FM, back in 1995.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN FC
I’m a keen Huddersfield Town fan and try to get to as many games as I can at the Galpharm Stadium. I cheered on Town at Wembley in 1994 and 1995 and one of my proudest moments was reporting pitch side for Calendar at Cardiff on the 2004 playoff final win over Mansfield.
